Football: Bin Hammam vows to fight FIFA claims

Mohamed bin Hammam confirmed that he intends to fight Fifa to clear his name after the world football governing body opened investigations against him over alleged financial mismanagement, according to the BBC. Bin Hammam has had a rocky relationship with Fifa who suspended him for 90 days following reports that the Qatari attempted to buy votes ahead of last year’s Fifa presidential election. Fifa has also been investigating Bin Hammam’s tenure as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president. “My legal team has filed an immediate response to the actions of the AFC and Fifa in relation to my latest politically-motivated ban,” said Bin Hammam, in a letter to AFC committee members. “I will announce further steps very shortly to challenge this clear abuse of power and process at the hands of Fifa.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2012.